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Email Pedro Marquez | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience, totally recommended, better than any other place for Safari!
The parks are really well taken care of, the regulations allow tourists to visit without overcrowding, the guides are respectful of the animals and dont let you be disruptive to them.
I can totally recommend Northern parks in Tanzania, much more than any other place for similar style safaris.
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Email Mark | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Truely "world class" wildlife and scenery but with food poisoning
In late June, we did the beach (Zanzibar) and safari (Serengeiti) tour, about four days for each location. Perfect weather, amount of time, and excellent staff support. Saw everything you can reasonably expect to see, many times upclose. It's expensive but honestly a great value. The only downside I have to mention was repeated food poisoning. For a family of four, we got sick 4-5 times in 11 days and were recovering for about a week after we got home. We took all the vaccinations, pills, sprays, and sanitizers. We had one day, the first day, where no one was in the bathroom (actively being sick), recovering in bed, or carefully going out but always close to a bathroom. We had to delay and cancel plans or do something without someone. Even when we did something amazing (like the dolphin dive or a night game drive), often one person felt "iffy". It diminished the experience. One time, my son got sick eating at the Arusha airport- our fault; the food had been sitting all day. But the other three, possibly four times, were from top-rated, high-end, "Western" restaurants. We never ate street food. In the end, it felt like you could not escape getting sick unless you only ate or drank "factory-sealed" items (even if they said they used bottled water for the ice or coffee.) I tried to stay positive, but it was the worst experience we've had as a family (and we've been to Thailand, Columbia, South Africa twice, across the Pacific, and Greece). If I had to do it again, I'd only stay at an inclusive lodge where they felt ownership for food safety. Sadly, I would not go out to eat, which is a big part of our travels. I'll accept food poisoning once, maybe twice, but every two or three days for four different, relatively experienced people across three locations is a systemic hygiene issue.
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Email Paola Virrueta | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience. Each day was a surprise.
Tanzania was a wonderful surprise. We visited Tarangire National Park, Serengeti National Park, the Ngorongoro Crater, and the Kilimanjaro waterfalls. Each place was amazing. My husband and I went in June, and the temperature in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro can be cool early in the morning and at night. It is advisable to bring some warm clothing to avoid getting cold. If you are going to visit the Kilimanjaro or Materuni Waterfalls, I highly recommend wearing shoes suitable for walking on dirt and mud. We went after a rainy day, and it was a bit difficult to walk.
If you want to buy handicrafts, remember to negotiate the price. It is better to buy handicrafts in Arusha rather than at the roadside markets between parks. If you have time, visit the Masai Market Center.
The people are very friendly and warm.
We traveled with the agency Ngekewa Safaris, and our guide Goodlove was excellent; he took great care of us the entire time.
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Email Liam M. | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing nature, service, and people. Everything we could've hoped for!
Had an amazing 10-night safari through Lake Natron, Serengeti NP, Ngorogoro Crater, Lake Eyasi cultural tours, and Tarangire NP.
Lake Natron is a bit out-of-the-way and off-the-beaten-path, and is known for its flamingos, shallow water lake, and beautiful sunrises with Mountain Ol Doinyo Lengai in the background. We saw many Maasai people herding sheep and cattle on the drive. Amazing scenery, but expect a 4+ hour drive.
Serengeti lived up to its reputation and more in our time there. We saw 4 of the big 5 (missing only the Black Rhino) in just our first two days - truly amazing. The luxury tented camps are much more "luxury" than "tents" - complete with stand-up showers, hot water, electricity, and importantly no insects or rodents as they're fully enclosed. We never had a bad meal and enjoyed every moment of our game drives.
Ngorogoro Crater is perhaps the most densely populated setting of incredible wild animals I could ever think of. Driving into the Crater when it opened, we were met by two large male lions within 30 seconds, walking right by our car so close I could've touched one. We then saw another pride of ~10 lion cubs playing in the plains with 5 more females sleeping nearby. Shortly thereafter, we completed seeing the big 5 as we saw two black rhinos in the distance, having just taken a mud bath in the crater's lake. Finally, as we were getting hungry and going to the breakfast spot, we were practically escorted for 2 full minutes by a family of elephants. A truly incredible place.
Lake Eyasi was cool - we met the Datoga and Hadzabe tribes (I'm surely misspelling them lol). They are both nomadic people and speak 0 English and very little Swahili, so you need a local guide to translate for you + know where they are at any given time. If desired, you may be able to go hunting in the morning with the Hadzabe tribe using a bow & arrow; we elected not to do this, but it may appeal to some.
Tarangire is known for elephants, but was admittedly a bit underwhelming after going to the Serengeti just because it has a much lower concentration of the Big 5. It is a great place to start your tour but not the best to end it. However, we had great accommodations, and at one point we were literally surrounded by elephants crossing the street around our Land Cruiser (not an exaggeration).
Overall, an amazing place. I will surely be back to the Serengeti + to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro!!
Email Martin Norris | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing country with welcoming happy people!
Unsure what to expect but no need to have worried! Extremely safe and welcoming country from the moment we arrived at Kilamanjaro airport where even the visa people were friendly and chatty! Hotel in Arusha of African Safari lodge was another great find, very welcoming staff, lovely room and fabulous food even though it was a small hotel they went above and beyond to make sure we had a good stay! We had booked a Safari with Landsman Experience company which was both slick and professional at all times. We visited Tarangire which was a fantastic day out from Arusha itself. Beautiful scenery, greener than the Serengeti and lots of wildlife to get up close and photograph highly recommended! A light aircraft journey into Serengeti organised by Gerald our travel guide was yet another highlight to see this beautiful area by air! Onto Safari which was amazing loved every minute and had a wonderful stay at the very clean Serena lodges with again great food and lovely welcome. We did a hot air balloon safari booked with Shine balloons which was was an amazing trip with a fantastic pilot called Paddy who made us feel special and safe at all times, finishing with a champagne breakfast and celebratory dance and cake to celebrate our anniversary and a little girls birthday on our trip. All organised with out our knowledge showing the generosity of the people there who really want their customers to have the best time! We also visited Ngorongoro which has spectacular scenery and well worth a visit too!! To finish our trip we flew to Zanzibar and stayed a night in Stone Town! We had an airport pickup organised by the hotel Maru Maru which was so good as he gave us a brief but interesting commentary on the landmarks we passed! Hotel was again excellent and central and we enjoyed time wondering around the streets on our own, everyone was friendly and yes they want you to go in their shop but did allow you to look around without high pressure to buy! We finished off at Nungwi beach it has a stunning beach and interesting village to wander round. We would like to have seen more of this beautiful island and hopefully will be back! In summary don't hesitate to visit you wont be disappointed!
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Email Greg Jaffa | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Once in a lifetime experience
Had a fantastic trip to Tanzania for our anniversary. Tanzania Specialists gave us the trip of a lifetime. Our guide Christian was the best. His expertise and knowledge of the places we visited allowed us to not only see the Big 5, but way more wildlife. He was patient and always allowed us to stay as long as we wanted to get the full experience of the animals. The accommodations were great too especially Sounds of Silence in Serengeti. The hot air balloon ride to see the wildabeast migrating was amazing as well. If you go to Tanzania I would highly recommend Tanzania Specialists and request Christian if you can you will not be disappointed.
CA
Email Lorraine | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Phenomenal wildlife, culture, history
Amazing country, the multitude of different tribes and fascinating cultures was incredible. In the national parks you can imagine being here millennia ago and not seeing vast differences from present-day.
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Email Jun Zhou | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Rustic, original and stunning
Despite the dust showers and africa massage, we love the six day safari. The world owes Tanzania to keep the oasis pristine and vibrant. To see the animals in their original habitat is completely different from seeing them in the zoo.
CH
Email Dorin Mlaki | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A country full of natural beauties.
This country allow to do a safari, a breathtaking experience. The wildlife is beautiful, the people are very open, friendly and welcoming. The beaches are real paradises and last but not least, the Weather were that period was really ideal for enjoying safaris and beaches places. I fully recommend to visit Tanzania!
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Email Eric Carrillo | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience
Tanzania was an amazing adventure. So beautiful to see all the wildlife. A lot more tropical than I expected.
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